Laura Lengnick
Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate
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Laura Lengnick
Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate
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SUSTAINABLE CLIMATE-READY FOOD SYSTEMS TO FEED A WARMING WORLD As we start to change the weather, resilience will become a watchword for farmers,as this fine book demonstrates. It’s strong adviceand it reinforces the essential truth, which is that we must keep climate from changing too muchbecause there’s nothing even the best farmer can do to cope with a truly overheated planet. BILL MCKIBBEN, author, Deep Economy MANAGING CROPS and livestock in a changing climate creates unprecedented challenges for North American food producers. Resilient Agriculture explores the solutions in sustainable…mehr
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SUSTAINABLE CLIMATE-READY FOOD SYSTEMS TO FEED A WARMING WORLD As we start to change the weather, resilience will become a watchword for farmers,as this fine book demonstrates. It’s strong adviceand it reinforces the essential truth, which is that we must keep climate from changing too muchbecause there’s nothing even the best farmer can do to cope with a truly overheated planet. BILL MCKIBBEN, author, Deep Economy MANAGING CROPS and livestock in a changing climate creates unprecedented challenges for North American food producers. Resilient Agriculture explores the solutions in sustainable agriculture by blending the experiences of award- winning farmers and ranchers with a comprehensive review of the latest science on climate risk, adaptation and resilience to examine: The opportunities and complexities created by rising temperatures, a lengthening growing season and increasing weather variability and extremes The actions taken by sustainable producers to maintain production in more variable weather conditions The innovations needed in North American agriculture and food systems to cultivate a resilient food future. The climate change challenge is real, and it is here now. The rich knowledge base contained in Resilient Agriculture serves as the cornerstone of an evolving, climateready food system that sustains land and community well into the 21st century. [Lengnick] asks farmers and ranchers who are creating new food systems that are more climate and community friendly to tell their stories of what they are doing, how they are doing it, and why. Accessible and compelling a must-read that builds hope for systemic change for a more sustainable future. CORNELIA BUTLER FLORA, Charles F Curtiss Professor Emeritus, Sociology and Agriculture and Life Science, Iowa State University; and Research Professor, Kansas State University LAURA LENGNICK is a researcher, policymaker, activist, educator and farmer whose work explores the community-enhancing potential of sustainable agriculture and food systems. Laura contributed to the 3rd National Climate Assessment as a lead author of the USDA report Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States: Effects and Adaptation. After leading the academic program in sustainable agriculture at Warren Wilson College for more than a decade, Laura is now an affiliated researcher with the Local Food Research Center and a climate resilience planning consultant with Fernleaf Solutions, both located in Asheville, NC.
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Produktdetails
- Produktdetails
- Verlag: New Society Publishers
- Seitenzahl: 288
- Erscheinungstermin: 2. Juni 2015
- Englisch
- Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 25mm
- Gewicht: 544g
- ISBN-13: 9780865717749
- ISBN-10: 0865717745
- Artikelnr.: 40542971
- Verlag: New Society Publishers
- Seitenzahl: 288
- Erscheinungstermin: 2. Juni 2015
- Englisch
- Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 25mm
- Gewicht: 544g
- ISBN-13: 9780865717749
- ISBN-10: 0865717745
- Artikelnr.: 40542971
Laura Lengnick has been actively exploring the community-enhancing potential of agriculture and food systems for more than 30 years. Through her work as a researcher, policymaker, activist, educator and farmer, she has gained the expertise necessary to better understand what it takes to move sustainability values into action at every level. Laura has been nationally recognized for her advocacy work with a USDA Secretary's Honor Award, and she contributed to the 3rd National Climate Assessment as a lead author of the report Climate Change and U.S. Agriculture: Effects and Adaptation. She directs the academic program in sustainable agriculture at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC, and spends much of her free time growing food using biointensive and permaculture methods.
Book Proposal: Annotated Chapters Sustaining Agriculture in a Warming World: The Climate Change Challenge and the Promise of Sustainable Agriculture Chapter 1: Sustaining Agriculture in a Warming World Introduces concepts of global warming and climate change and presents current and projected climate changes in the U.S. by region as reported in the 3rd National Climate Assessment (scheduled for release in April 2014). Explains that climate scientists now see that early climate change effects can be detected starting in the early 1980
s and the pace and intensity of climate change has increased in the last decade. Presents an overview of American agriculture organized according to the USDA-ERS Farm Resource Regions
what is grown where, how much does each region contribute to our food supply to connect the specific climate effects to specific agricultural resource regions. Discusses why climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to agricultural sustainability in the context of 21st century resource scarcity and that sustainable agriculture is widely recommended as a path to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Introduces the rationale for the book: I interviewed nationally-recognized sustainable farmers who have been farming more than 30 years to ground the climate science with perspectives from those with real experience managing climate change effects. I wanted to learn more about their experience of climate change: What kinds of effects were they experiencing on their farms? How have they responded and have their adaptations been successful? Are they hopeful for the future
do they think that sustainable agriculture have the capacity to cope with climate change effects projected for this century? Chapter 2: Agricultural Vulnerability to Climate Change: Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity Introduces the concept of agricultural risk in farm management. and describes how climate risk has emerged as a novel production risk in the last decade. Presents recent research-based evidence to support a discussion of climate vulnerability. Climate vulnerability of a system (a farm or a community) is determined by three different components: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Exposure describes the climate events likely to be experienced in a specific locale. For example, all locales will experience increased CO2 concentration, but only some locales will experience floods. Current and projected exposures relevant to agriculture and regional differences in key exposures will be presented in this section. Sensitivity describes the potential damage to the system of a climate event. Some kinds of production systems are very sensitive to specific types of climate events, others are not. For example, tree fruit production systems are robust to drought and flood because of plant architecture, but very sensitive to a freeze during bloom
the whole fruit crop can be destroyed in a matter of a few hours with a late spring freeze. Annual vegetable production is much less sensitive to variable spring temperatures because spring vegetable crops are robust to cold snaps and vegetables are planted in succession
so if an extreme event damages one planting, the next planting can replace it with little loss of production. But annual vegetables are very sensitive to drought and flood events. Key crop and livestock and farm resource sensitivities will be presented in this section. Adaptive capacity describes the ability of the system respond to a climate event, prevent or recover from the damage and remain productive. This recovery is supported by human response as well as ecosystem response. For example, healthy soils can absorb more water falling on the soil surface from an extreme rainfall event
this means less overland flow, less soil erosion and less water added to surface water flow which reduces potential flooding. Adaptive capacity will introduced in this chapter, but will be fully explored in Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Adaptive Capacity and Resilience Introduces resilience concepts, explains relationship to adaptive capacity and fully develops concepts of adaptive capacity and resilience in agricultural systems. Resilient systems have high adaptive capacity
both terms describe the ability of a system to absorb or adjust to disturbance in a way that maintains structure and function. For example, healthy soils contribute to farm system resilience by mediating variable precipitation as described in Chapter 1. The adaptive capacity of a system is determined by three different components: the operating context (social, ecological and economic), existing knowledge and options, and individual capability to act. The operating context describes the constraints on the system to respond to a disturbance
these may be ecological (poor soil health), social (no policy support to maintain/build soil health), or economic (market does not support soil health). Existing knowledge and options describes the state of understanding of resilience and what technological and other tools are available to enhance resilience of the system. For example, we know that soil health enhances resilience (knowledge), but we can
t yet recommend a range of specific practices to increase resilience under different local conditions (options). Individual capability describes the human resources needed for effective decision-making. For example, soil health enhances farm resilience, but a farmer must understand how to build soil health and have a desire to build soil health in order to take action. Chapter 4
Fruit Production Key Exposures: Variable Temperatures, Warmer Winters Key Sensitivity: Temperature Thresholds Key Adaptive Responses: Managing Microclimates, Frost Protection, Low Chill Varieties Potential Farmers: Ed and Wynette Sills, Pleasant Grove, California, Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon, Jonathan Bishop, Guilford, Connecticut Chapter 5
Grain Production Key Exposures: Variable Precipitation, increased CO2 and pest pressures Key Sensitivity: Timing of planting/harvest, drought during grain fill, early maturity Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, crop diversity, livestock integration Potential Farmers: Dick & Sharon Thompson, Boone, Iowa, Bob Quinn, Big Sandy, Montana, Rich Bennett, Napoleon, Ohio, Carmen Fernholz, Madison, Minnesota Chapter 6
Meat and Dairy Production Key Exposures: Heat waves, increased pest pressures Key Sensitivity: Prolonged periods of intense heat and cold Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, age and species diversity, pasture-based production Potential Farmers: Greg & Lei Gunthorp, LaGrange, Indiana, Richard & Peggy Sechrist, Fredericksburg, Texas, Tom Trantham, Pelzer, South Carolina, Tom Larson, Saint Edward, Nebraska, Gordon & Marion Jones, Chichester, New Hampshire Chapter 7
Vegetable Production Key Exposures: Variable Temperature and Precipitation, extreme weather events, pollinator disruption Key Sensitivity: Pollination and fruit development, pest damage, product quality Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, crop diversity, irrigation, physical protection Confirmed Farmers: Elizabeth Henderson, Newark, New York and Mike Heath, Buhl, Idaho and Alex & Betsy Hitt, Graham, North Carolina have all agreed to be interviewed for this project. Potential Farmers: I have not yet received a response to my request for an interview from the following farmers: Steve & Cheri Groff, Holtwood, Pennsylvania , Lon Inaba, Wapato, Washington, Richard DeWilde & Linda Halley, Viroqua, Wisconsin, and Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon, and Dosi and Norma Alverez, La Union, New Mexico. Chapter 8: New Times, New Tools Introduces the new kinds of knowledge and tools needed to support the development of climate ready agriculture presented through the climate vulnerability framework. Exposure: What do farmers need from climate scientists to improve strategic planning, particularly long-term investments? Sensitivity: What kinds of information can agricultural scientists provide to help us understand the productivity impacts of specific sensitivities and interactions? Adaptive capacity: What government policy and programs are needed to improve operating context? What changes in ecosystem health and natural resource quality? What can research and technical advisors do to improve knowledge and tools? How do we create climate-ready managers capable
s and the pace and intensity of climate change has increased in the last decade. Presents an overview of American agriculture organized according to the USDA-ERS Farm Resource Regions
what is grown where, how much does each region contribute to our food supply to connect the specific climate effects to specific agricultural resource regions. Discusses why climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to agricultural sustainability in the context of 21st century resource scarcity and that sustainable agriculture is widely recommended as a path to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Introduces the rationale for the book: I interviewed nationally-recognized sustainable farmers who have been farming more than 30 years to ground the climate science with perspectives from those with real experience managing climate change effects. I wanted to learn more about their experience of climate change: What kinds of effects were they experiencing on their farms? How have they responded and have their adaptations been successful? Are they hopeful for the future
do they think that sustainable agriculture have the capacity to cope with climate change effects projected for this century? Chapter 2: Agricultural Vulnerability to Climate Change: Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity Introduces the concept of agricultural risk in farm management. and describes how climate risk has emerged as a novel production risk in the last decade. Presents recent research-based evidence to support a discussion of climate vulnerability. Climate vulnerability of a system (a farm or a community) is determined by three different components: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Exposure describes the climate events likely to be experienced in a specific locale. For example, all locales will experience increased CO2 concentration, but only some locales will experience floods. Current and projected exposures relevant to agriculture and regional differences in key exposures will be presented in this section. Sensitivity describes the potential damage to the system of a climate event. Some kinds of production systems are very sensitive to specific types of climate events, others are not. For example, tree fruit production systems are robust to drought and flood because of plant architecture, but very sensitive to a freeze during bloom
the whole fruit crop can be destroyed in a matter of a few hours with a late spring freeze. Annual vegetable production is much less sensitive to variable spring temperatures because spring vegetable crops are robust to cold snaps and vegetables are planted in succession
so if an extreme event damages one planting, the next planting can replace it with little loss of production. But annual vegetables are very sensitive to drought and flood events. Key crop and livestock and farm resource sensitivities will be presented in this section. Adaptive capacity describes the ability of the system respond to a climate event, prevent or recover from the damage and remain productive. This recovery is supported by human response as well as ecosystem response. For example, healthy soils can absorb more water falling on the soil surface from an extreme rainfall event
this means less overland flow, less soil erosion and less water added to surface water flow which reduces potential flooding. Adaptive capacity will introduced in this chapter, but will be fully explored in Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Adaptive Capacity and Resilience Introduces resilience concepts, explains relationship to adaptive capacity and fully develops concepts of adaptive capacity and resilience in agricultural systems. Resilient systems have high adaptive capacity
both terms describe the ability of a system to absorb or adjust to disturbance in a way that maintains structure and function. For example, healthy soils contribute to farm system resilience by mediating variable precipitation as described in Chapter 1. The adaptive capacity of a system is determined by three different components: the operating context (social, ecological and economic), existing knowledge and options, and individual capability to act. The operating context describes the constraints on the system to respond to a disturbance
these may be ecological (poor soil health), social (no policy support to maintain/build soil health), or economic (market does not support soil health). Existing knowledge and options describes the state of understanding of resilience and what technological and other tools are available to enhance resilience of the system. For example, we know that soil health enhances resilience (knowledge), but we can
t yet recommend a range of specific practices to increase resilience under different local conditions (options). Individual capability describes the human resources needed for effective decision-making. For example, soil health enhances farm resilience, but a farmer must understand how to build soil health and have a desire to build soil health in order to take action. Chapter 4
Fruit Production Key Exposures: Variable Temperatures, Warmer Winters Key Sensitivity: Temperature Thresholds Key Adaptive Responses: Managing Microclimates, Frost Protection, Low Chill Varieties Potential Farmers: Ed and Wynette Sills, Pleasant Grove, California, Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon, Jonathan Bishop, Guilford, Connecticut Chapter 5
Grain Production Key Exposures: Variable Precipitation, increased CO2 and pest pressures Key Sensitivity: Timing of planting/harvest, drought during grain fill, early maturity Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, crop diversity, livestock integration Potential Farmers: Dick & Sharon Thompson, Boone, Iowa, Bob Quinn, Big Sandy, Montana, Rich Bennett, Napoleon, Ohio, Carmen Fernholz, Madison, Minnesota Chapter 6
Meat and Dairy Production Key Exposures: Heat waves, increased pest pressures Key Sensitivity: Prolonged periods of intense heat and cold Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, age and species diversity, pasture-based production Potential Farmers: Greg & Lei Gunthorp, LaGrange, Indiana, Richard & Peggy Sechrist, Fredericksburg, Texas, Tom Trantham, Pelzer, South Carolina, Tom Larson, Saint Edward, Nebraska, Gordon & Marion Jones, Chichester, New Hampshire Chapter 7
Vegetable Production Key Exposures: Variable Temperature and Precipitation, extreme weather events, pollinator disruption Key Sensitivity: Pollination and fruit development, pest damage, product quality Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, crop diversity, irrigation, physical protection Confirmed Farmers: Elizabeth Henderson, Newark, New York and Mike Heath, Buhl, Idaho and Alex & Betsy Hitt, Graham, North Carolina have all agreed to be interviewed for this project. Potential Farmers: I have not yet received a response to my request for an interview from the following farmers: Steve & Cheri Groff, Holtwood, Pennsylvania , Lon Inaba, Wapato, Washington, Richard DeWilde & Linda Halley, Viroqua, Wisconsin, and Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon, and Dosi and Norma Alverez, La Union, New Mexico. Chapter 8: New Times, New Tools Introduces the new kinds of knowledge and tools needed to support the development of climate ready agriculture presented through the climate vulnerability framework. Exposure: What do farmers need from climate scientists to improve strategic planning, particularly long-term investments? Sensitivity: What kinds of information can agricultural scientists provide to help us understand the productivity impacts of specific sensitivities and interactions? Adaptive capacity: What government policy and programs are needed to improve operating context? What changes in ecosystem health and natural resource quality? What can research and technical advisors do to improve knowledge and tools? How do we create climate-ready managers capable
Book Proposal: Annotated Chapters Sustaining Agriculture in a Warming World: The Climate Change Challenge and the Promise of Sustainable Agriculture Chapter 1: Sustaining Agriculture in a Warming World Introduces concepts of global warming and climate change and presents current and projected climate changes in the U.S. by region as reported in the 3rd National Climate Assessment (scheduled for release in April 2014). Explains that climate scientists now see that early climate change effects can be detected starting in the early 1980
s and the pace and intensity of climate change has increased in the last decade. Presents an overview of American agriculture organized according to the USDA-ERS Farm Resource Regions
what is grown where, how much does each region contribute to our food supply to connect the specific climate effects to specific agricultural resource regions. Discusses why climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to agricultural sustainability in the context of 21st century resource scarcity and that sustainable agriculture is widely recommended as a path to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Introduces the rationale for the book: I interviewed nationally-recognized sustainable farmers who have been farming more than 30 years to ground the climate science with perspectives from those with real experience managing climate change effects. I wanted to learn more about their experience of climate change: What kinds of effects were they experiencing on their farms? How have they responded and have their adaptations been successful? Are they hopeful for the future
do they think that sustainable agriculture have the capacity to cope with climate change effects projected for this century? Chapter 2: Agricultural Vulnerability to Climate Change: Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity Introduces the concept of agricultural risk in farm management. and describes how climate risk has emerged as a novel production risk in the last decade. Presents recent research-based evidence to support a discussion of climate vulnerability. Climate vulnerability of a system (a farm or a community) is determined by three different components: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Exposure describes the climate events likely to be experienced in a specific locale. For example, all locales will experience increased CO2 concentration, but only some locales will experience floods. Current and projected exposures relevant to agriculture and regional differences in key exposures will be presented in this section. Sensitivity describes the potential damage to the system of a climate event. Some kinds of production systems are very sensitive to specific types of climate events, others are not. For example, tree fruit production systems are robust to drought and flood because of plant architecture, but very sensitive to a freeze during bloom
the whole fruit crop can be destroyed in a matter of a few hours with a late spring freeze. Annual vegetable production is much less sensitive to variable spring temperatures because spring vegetable crops are robust to cold snaps and vegetables are planted in succession
so if an extreme event damages one planting, the next planting can replace it with little loss of production. But annual vegetables are very sensitive to drought and flood events. Key crop and livestock and farm resource sensitivities will be presented in this section. Adaptive capacity describes the ability of the system respond to a climate event, prevent or recover from the damage and remain productive. This recovery is supported by human response as well as ecosystem response. For example, healthy soils can absorb more water falling on the soil surface from an extreme rainfall event
this means less overland flow, less soil erosion and less water added to surface water flow which reduces potential flooding. Adaptive capacity will introduced in this chapter, but will be fully explored in Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Adaptive Capacity and Resilience Introduces resilience concepts, explains relationship to adaptive capacity and fully develops concepts of adaptive capacity and resilience in agricultural systems. Resilient systems have high adaptive capacity
both terms describe the ability of a system to absorb or adjust to disturbance in a way that maintains structure and function. For example, healthy soils contribute to farm system resilience by mediating variable precipitation as described in Chapter 1. The adaptive capacity of a system is determined by three different components: the operating context (social, ecological and economic), existing knowledge and options, and individual capability to act. The operating context describes the constraints on the system to respond to a disturbance
these may be ecological (poor soil health), social (no policy support to maintain/build soil health), or economic (market does not support soil health). Existing knowledge and options describes the state of understanding of resilience and what technological and other tools are available to enhance resilience of the system. For example, we know that soil health enhances resilience (knowledge), but we can
t yet recommend a range of specific practices to increase resilience under different local conditions (options). Individual capability describes the human resources needed for effective decision-making. For example, soil health enhances farm resilience, but a farmer must understand how to build soil health and have a desire to build soil health in order to take action. Chapter 4
Fruit Production Key Exposures: Variable Temperatures, Warmer Winters Key Sensitivity: Temperature Thresholds Key Adaptive Responses: Managing Microclimates, Frost Protection, Low Chill Varieties Potential Farmers: Ed and Wynette Sills, Pleasant Grove, California, Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon, Jonathan Bishop, Guilford, Connecticut Chapter 5
Grain Production Key Exposures: Variable Precipitation, increased CO2 and pest pressures Key Sensitivity: Timing of planting/harvest, drought during grain fill, early maturity Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, crop diversity, livestock integration Potential Farmers: Dick & Sharon Thompson, Boone, Iowa, Bob Quinn, Big Sandy, Montana, Rich Bennett, Napoleon, Ohio, Carmen Fernholz, Madison, Minnesota Chapter 6
Meat and Dairy Production Key Exposures: Heat waves, increased pest pressures Key Sensitivity: Prolonged periods of intense heat and cold Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, age and species diversity, pasture-based production Potential Farmers: Greg & Lei Gunthorp, LaGrange, Indiana, Richard & Peggy Sechrist, Fredericksburg, Texas, Tom Trantham, Pelzer, South Carolina, Tom Larson, Saint Edward, Nebraska, Gordon & Marion Jones, Chichester, New Hampshire Chapter 7
Vegetable Production Key Exposures: Variable Temperature and Precipitation, extreme weather events, pollinator disruption Key Sensitivity: Pollination and fruit development, pest damage, product quality Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, crop diversity, irrigation, physical protection Confirmed Farmers: Elizabeth Henderson, Newark, New York and Mike Heath, Buhl, Idaho and Alex & Betsy Hitt, Graham, North Carolina have all agreed to be interviewed for this project. Potential Farmers: I have not yet received a response to my request for an interview from the following farmers: Steve & Cheri Groff, Holtwood, Pennsylvania , Lon Inaba, Wapato, Washington, Richard DeWilde & Linda Halley, Viroqua, Wisconsin, and Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon, and Dosi and Norma Alverez, La Union, New Mexico. Chapter 8: New Times, New Tools Introduces the new kinds of knowledge and tools needed to support the development of climate ready agriculture presented through the climate vulnerability framework. Exposure: What do farmers need from climate scientists to improve strategic planning, particularly long-term investments? Sensitivity: What kinds of information can agricultural scientists provide to help us understand the productivity impacts of specific sensitivities and interactions? Adaptive capacity: What government policy and programs are needed to improve operating context? What changes in ecosystem health and natural resource quality? What can research and technical advisors do to improve knowledge and tools? How do we create climate-ready managers capable
s and the pace and intensity of climate change has increased in the last decade. Presents an overview of American agriculture organized according to the USDA-ERS Farm Resource Regions
what is grown where, how much does each region contribute to our food supply to connect the specific climate effects to specific agricultural resource regions. Discusses why climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to agricultural sustainability in the context of 21st century resource scarcity and that sustainable agriculture is widely recommended as a path to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Introduces the rationale for the book: I interviewed nationally-recognized sustainable farmers who have been farming more than 30 years to ground the climate science with perspectives from those with real experience managing climate change effects. I wanted to learn more about their experience of climate change: What kinds of effects were they experiencing on their farms? How have they responded and have their adaptations been successful? Are they hopeful for the future
do they think that sustainable agriculture have the capacity to cope with climate change effects projected for this century? Chapter 2: Agricultural Vulnerability to Climate Change: Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity Introduces the concept of agricultural risk in farm management. and describes how climate risk has emerged as a novel production risk in the last decade. Presents recent research-based evidence to support a discussion of climate vulnerability. Climate vulnerability of a system (a farm or a community) is determined by three different components: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Exposure describes the climate events likely to be experienced in a specific locale. For example, all locales will experience increased CO2 concentration, but only some locales will experience floods. Current and projected exposures relevant to agriculture and regional differences in key exposures will be presented in this section. Sensitivity describes the potential damage to the system of a climate event. Some kinds of production systems are very sensitive to specific types of climate events, others are not. For example, tree fruit production systems are robust to drought and flood because of plant architecture, but very sensitive to a freeze during bloom
the whole fruit crop can be destroyed in a matter of a few hours with a late spring freeze. Annual vegetable production is much less sensitive to variable spring temperatures because spring vegetable crops are robust to cold snaps and vegetables are planted in succession
so if an extreme event damages one planting, the next planting can replace it with little loss of production. But annual vegetables are very sensitive to drought and flood events. Key crop and livestock and farm resource sensitivities will be presented in this section. Adaptive capacity describes the ability of the system respond to a climate event, prevent or recover from the damage and remain productive. This recovery is supported by human response as well as ecosystem response. For example, healthy soils can absorb more water falling on the soil surface from an extreme rainfall event
this means less overland flow, less soil erosion and less water added to surface water flow which reduces potential flooding. Adaptive capacity will introduced in this chapter, but will be fully explored in Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Adaptive Capacity and Resilience Introduces resilience concepts, explains relationship to adaptive capacity and fully develops concepts of adaptive capacity and resilience in agricultural systems. Resilient systems have high adaptive capacity
both terms describe the ability of a system to absorb or adjust to disturbance in a way that maintains structure and function. For example, healthy soils contribute to farm system resilience by mediating variable precipitation as described in Chapter 1. The adaptive capacity of a system is determined by three different components: the operating context (social, ecological and economic), existing knowledge and options, and individual capability to act. The operating context describes the constraints on the system to respond to a disturbance
these may be ecological (poor soil health), social (no policy support to maintain/build soil health), or economic (market does not support soil health). Existing knowledge and options describes the state of understanding of resilience and what technological and other tools are available to enhance resilience of the system. For example, we know that soil health enhances resilience (knowledge), but we can
t yet recommend a range of specific practices to increase resilience under different local conditions (options). Individual capability describes the human resources needed for effective decision-making. For example, soil health enhances farm resilience, but a farmer must understand how to build soil health and have a desire to build soil health in order to take action. Chapter 4
Fruit Production Key Exposures: Variable Temperatures, Warmer Winters Key Sensitivity: Temperature Thresholds Key Adaptive Responses: Managing Microclimates, Frost Protection, Low Chill Varieties Potential Farmers: Ed and Wynette Sills, Pleasant Grove, California, Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon, Jonathan Bishop, Guilford, Connecticut Chapter 5
Grain Production Key Exposures: Variable Precipitation, increased CO2 and pest pressures Key Sensitivity: Timing of planting/harvest, drought during grain fill, early maturity Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, crop diversity, livestock integration Potential Farmers: Dick & Sharon Thompson, Boone, Iowa, Bob Quinn, Big Sandy, Montana, Rich Bennett, Napoleon, Ohio, Carmen Fernholz, Madison, Minnesota Chapter 6
Meat and Dairy Production Key Exposures: Heat waves, increased pest pressures Key Sensitivity: Prolonged periods of intense heat and cold Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, age and species diversity, pasture-based production Potential Farmers: Greg & Lei Gunthorp, LaGrange, Indiana, Richard & Peggy Sechrist, Fredericksburg, Texas, Tom Trantham, Pelzer, South Carolina, Tom Larson, Saint Edward, Nebraska, Gordon & Marion Jones, Chichester, New Hampshire Chapter 7
Vegetable Production Key Exposures: Variable Temperature and Precipitation, extreme weather events, pollinator disruption Key Sensitivity: Pollination and fruit development, pest damage, product quality Key Adaptive Responses: Variety selection, crop diversity, irrigation, physical protection Confirmed Farmers: Elizabeth Henderson, Newark, New York and Mike Heath, Buhl, Idaho and Alex & Betsy Hitt, Graham, North Carolina have all agreed to be interviewed for this project. Potential Farmers: I have not yet received a response to my request for an interview from the following farmers: Steve & Cheri Groff, Holtwood, Pennsylvania , Lon Inaba, Wapato, Washington, Richard DeWilde & Linda Halley, Viroqua, Wisconsin, and Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon, and Dosi and Norma Alverez, La Union, New Mexico. Chapter 8: New Times, New Tools Introduces the new kinds of knowledge and tools needed to support the development of climate ready agriculture presented through the climate vulnerability framework. Exposure: What do farmers need from climate scientists to improve strategic planning, particularly long-term investments? Sensitivity: What kinds of information can agricultural scientists provide to help us understand the productivity impacts of specific sensitivities and interactions? Adaptive capacity: What government policy and programs are needed to improve operating context? What changes in ecosystem health and natural resource quality? What can research and technical advisors do to improve knowledge and tools? How do we create climate-ready managers capable